EXHIBIT 23.1

                        CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS

The Board of Directors
Downey Financial Corp.:

  We consent to incorporation by reference in the registration statement (No.
333-79835) on Amendment No. 1 to Form S-3 of Downey Financial Corp. of our
report dated January 20, 1999, relating to the consolidated balance sheets of
Downey Financial Corp. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 1998 and 1997, and
the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income,
stockholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year
period ended December 31, 1998, which report appears in the December 31, 1998
annual report on Form 10-K of Downey Financial Corp. and to the reference to
our firm under the heading "Experts" in the prospectus.

                                          /s/ KPMG LLP
                                          KPMG LLP

Los Angeles, California

July 6, 1999